1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system which assists in the development of software products according to a described set of procedures, and more particularly, to an interactive support medium which automatically monitors, records, invokes and suggests past, present and future actions according to a set of procedures such as those found in many methods related to computer program design.
2. Description of Related Art
For years computer software developers and programmers have desired and sought after tools which ease the burdens associated with the creation of complex computer programs. Software development of the distant, and not so distant, past has required the programmer's specific attention to every detail associated with the program's progression and all the documents, descriptions and the like associated therewith. A computer software system was built, tested, the components revised and the system rebuilt until the programmer created the desired product. As software systems have grown in size and complexity, the number of programmers required for the design of a single system has also grown dramatically. Consequently, it is now quite common that different individual programmers will design separate elements of an overall software system in which each is required to interact and work together in the final product. Clearly, problems of consistency and uniformity arise in such projects. If, for example, one programmer modifies his or her section of the program, ramifications are experienced in other parts of the program which should be brought to the attention of the designers working on those parts. Thus, there exists a need for development support systems which track and assist software developers during the creation of complex computer programs.
One solution is shown, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,860,204 to Gendron et al., wherein a workstation employs methods to construct computer programs through the use of visual graphical representations. The computer based workstation of Gendron allows the user to create a computer program by connecting graphical programming blocks together and thereby create the desired functional result. While the Gendron system performs integrity checks on the interconnections chosen, the system does not provide or automatically present suggestions to the user regarding the courses of action available and the consequences of the actions taken by the user.
Similarly, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,734,854 to Afshar, there is taught a system for designing generic program modules which perform commonly needed computing functions. The user may then integrate the generic module into a specific or concrete software unit and the Afshar system automatically generates a concrete version of the generic module to fit into the specific software unit. This system, while having some automated features, does not inform the user which generic system or tool is required during the development, nor does it suggest alternative avenues of implementation to the user.
Recently, however, Computer-Aided Software Engineering ("CASE") environments have become not only helpful but, in many instances, essential for complex software projects; just as Computer-Aided Design ("CAD") systems have become essential for complex hardware projects. "Software engineering environment" generally refers to an operating system environment and a collection of tools or subroutines which function within the realm of conditions generated by the developing computer program. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,809,170 to Leblang et al., teaches a support system for computer aided software engineering applications. The support system of Leblang monitors changes made in the developing system and records such changes for future retrieval. In addition, the system notifies concurrent users of the system of any such changes. However, Leblang does not teach a support system that automatically invokes various program construction tools and interactively forwards suggestions to the user.
The early software engineering environment systems as well as the theories and objectives of software development support are described in general terms in the following articles:
Griffiths, et al., "ALF: Its Process Model and its Implementation on PCTE," ESPRIT ALF Project, Technical Paper 1989.
Kaiser, et al. "Intelligent Assistance for Software Development and Maintenance," IEEE Software, 1988.
Clemm, "Replacing Version-Control with Job-Control," Association for Computing Machinery, 1989.
In addition, CASE systems assist users in ways other than code generation. For example, tasks undertaken by software developers which modify a particular aspect of the program not only affect program module elements but other non-code elements of the program as well. Adding an enhancement to the program may also demand updating the program's design specification, user manual, and on-line "help" files. Some steps may involve off-line activities such as communicating the change to others working on the program or using the program, constructing floppy disks for the updated program and transmitting the new disks to programmers and users. The software development process involves much more than just programming, and a practical software development environment should support more than just programming.
Industrial computer program development today begins with describing the methods and procedures by which the particular software should evolve. The description contains numerous standards as well as complex processes requiring a multitude of steps to complete. Previous software support systems comprised "toolboxes" which contained several tools for the accomplishment of a specific task. Tools utilized within these support systems included editors, compilers, flow chart editors etc. The programmer was responsible for choosing the correct tool and for ensuring consistency among various program elements.
Other software support systems have included process programming techniques which describe a process in terms of software. Process programming implements software processes as software. This approach describes as much as possible of the software process by means of a formal language, and the process description is interpreted by the computer which can then guide the user in how to execute a specific task. Prior art process programming techniques, while arguably operating as software development assistance means, do not provide the user with flexible assistance. Instead, prior process programming forces the user to proceed through a variety of different steps in the development process. Users, however, reluctantly accept the forced regiment imposed by the process programming technique. To be truly effective in the software development process, a more flexible support system is required, including one that monitors the actions taken by the user, allows the user to proceed in several directions consistent with the underlying development process, interprets the actions of the user and gives support for the activities performed. Thus, there exists a need in the art for an interactive process programming support system which assists software programmers and engineers in a flexible way in the development of complex computer programs.